Penn State's O'Brien completes defensive staff

Ted Roof will serve as defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions, while John Butler will coach the defensive backs.

York, PA -
As expected, Penn State has announced the official hires of Ted Roof and John Butler to complete its new defensive coaching staff.

Roof, a former head coach at Duke, will serve as Bill O'Brien's defensive coordinator. Butler, a Philadelphia native and special teams coordinator at South Carolina, will coach Nittany Lion defensive backs.

Media reports have indicated that O'Brien's final hire of his nine-person staff will be quarterbacks coach George Godsey, now a New England Patriots' offensive assistant.

O'Brien will spend the weekend coaching the Patriots offense in the NFL playoffs against Denver before an expected flight back to State College to meet recruits on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Roof and Butler fill out a veteran defensive staff.

Roof was Auburn's defensive coordinator when the Tigers won the 2010 national title then left just a month ago to take over the same position at Central Florida. During Auburn's undefeated title run, its defense ranked ninth nationally against the run.

Roof, a Lawrenceville, Ga., native, also coached at Georgia Tech and Minnesota.

Butler comes to Penn State a year after coaching linebackers and special teams at South Carolina. Before that, he spent four seasons doing the same thing at Minnesota, coaching a season there with Roof.

Butler graduated from LaSalle College High in Philadelphia and from Catholic University.